1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to articles of footwear. More particularly, the invention relates to manufacturing new articles of footwear to resemble vintage or worn articles of footwear.
2. Description of Related Art
Vintage clothing and accessories are popular items, with true vintage articles commanding high retail prices when these rare items become available for sale. To fill the need for the vintage look, manufacturers reissue designs. However, the vintage market also includes a high demand for articles which not only incorporate the vintage styles, but which also look used, with wear patterns, creasing, and discoloration to give the appearance of a well-worn article. This vintage market has been dominated by denim, with many treatments having been devised to make jeans and jackets look “broken in” and worn.
Recently, a similar trend has developed for used athletic shoes, such as sneakers from the 1970s and 1980s. Truly vintage articles of footwear, with vintage wear characteristics such as discoloration, worn tread patterns, wrinkles, and creases may command high prices. Even if a person is willing to pay such high prices for used footwear, such articles of footwear are rare.
Some footwear manufacturers have attempted to accommodate this fashion trend by producing new articles of footwear with some vintage characteristics. In some methods, materials used in making the upper may be given a vintage treatment prior to constructing the article of footwear. In one such example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,878,407 discusses manipulating leather or suede by passing the fabric over substance-infused rollers then ironing the fabric to set the substances and them selectively abrading the fabric. The distressed fabric may then be used to make a shoe or portion of a shoe. Similarly, Japanese patent number JP 6014801 discloses distressing leather or suede materials by impregnating the material with a pigment-laden resin, then selectively abrading portions of the resin from the surface by washing the material with pumice. The materials are attached to an instep material either before or after washing the material with the pumice.
In other treatments, old materials may be used to form new articles of footwear. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,830 discloses recycling old tires by making outsoles from the rubber of the tires. These outsoles are attached to uppers made from new, eco-friendly materials.
However, it is not known in the art to produce an article of footwear from new or substantially new materials to give the article of footwear a well-worn appearance. Therefore, there exists a need in the art for methods to produce new articles of footwear which resemble vintage articles of footwear in both styling and wear patterns.